Week 14
Week in Review
Monday July 16, 2018
Today was a huge milestone for our class: we celebrated the completion of our Toastmasters course. We had honored visitors from Toastmasters International come speak to us and give us positive feedback. It was so wonderful to hear everyone’s final speech. Each PEP brother brought his own personality to the front of the class and spoke very passionately about the topic at hand. It’s so wonderful that PEP allows us to participate in the Toastmasters course. It has helped all of us to stop being so sheltered and standoffish by giving us each a full chance to get in front of the class and speak and by strengthening all of our communication skills. Today, we can proudly say that no crowd is too big for us to speak in front of.
Our second half of the class is a personal favorite: Computer Lab! But instead of clicking away at the keyboards, we had a super fun time with PowerPoint presentations. Everyone was laughing and having a good time. PEP has opened our minds as well as our hearts. All the brothers care for each other. After the presentations were over, we went back to the pods to relax before celebrating a birthday for one of our brothers – we ate a dinner with him and of course sang Happy Birthday! Now we will prepare ourselves to study and anticipate what tomorrow may bring our way. We are PEP!
Jeremy S. (a.k.a. “Thunderstorm”)
Tuesday July 17, 2018
Tuesday is a class day for our Phase One brothers, so Legacy ‘18 is off today. It’s our time to give back to the upcoming class, so we helped provide the training and education we have learned. We donated our time by being facilitators, doormen and emcees. Some of our Legacy ‘18 classmates gave presentation on PEP’s 10 Driving Values, while others sat in on groups after Robert Lewis’s Authentic Manhood videos were over. And today, the Robert Lewis video was about making a healthy break with mom, which was a great lesson. We all have mothers that love their boys, and when you are that young boy growing up to be a man that she raised with or without a father, it’s more difficult for them to let you go. Moms may be unwilling to release you to another woman, that being your wife. We also learned to get the support, encouragement and help to break the over-involvement of our mothers and talk to our wives about how we now recognize the problem with our moms to better our relationship.
Today we also got updates from the Family Program’s reports about graduation guests, when David F. let me know that my sister and niece have decided to come to graduation along with my wife and daughter. That made me happy. We learn to love in PEP, and no matter what your day may look like coming to class, before you leave someone will give you positive affirmation that will keep you moving forward.
We have learned that working for the program helps you learn leadership skills and communicate in a better, more tactful way. Leadership is important to everyone in our class because we all want change and to make a positive difference in our family life. The Prison Entrepreneurship Program has not only taught us about how to make a business plan; it has taught us the most important part of business is our character. Thank you PEP for a great for teaching us great life lessons.
Andrew S. (a.k.a. “Rafiki”)
Wednesday July 18, 2018
Today was a mile marker for the class of Legacy ‘18: we took our last test from the entrepreneurship textbook, and it was on franchises. These tests that we took were far from easy and required a lot of time management and dedication. The whole class was excited through this last test. Now we all have to focus on our 7-12 minute business pitches. We have about two weeks left until our Pitch Day event. Today when we returned to our living areas, we had our pit panels. This is where we practice in front of our brothers and graduates.
So before class we started the day with our daily pray in and then followed by the word of the day. We then took our last test! After that we were given positive affirmation by our peer educator. He presented us merit stickers that represent one of the 10 Driving Values. After that, one of our brothers danced his way to the front of the room and then presented his business pitch. He delivered it very well and didn’t rely much on his note cards. Also today we celebrated some birthdays. It’s amazing to have the whole class stand and sing happy birthday! We then indulged in some art history lectures which are a part of the curriculum. Then our in-prison management danced to the front to talk to us about financial assistance for our families who cannot afford to attend graduation and the procedures that we must follow; those whose families are in need must give a one minute pitch to the class.
George S. (a.k.a. “Teen Wolf”)
Thursday July 19, 2018
Looking back on today’s events, we all went to class today with an amazing attitude, both Phase One and Phase Two participants. We went to the Phase One class and helped our peer educators facilitate. We get a certain joy that is sometimes lost in translation, but we all talk about it nonetheless. We look across the room with more than a hundred men who all really have the same basic goals. We all want to change. We all want to be real men. We watched The Quest for Authentic Manhood for the first hour and then broke up into small groups. We shared a portion of our lives with brothers we’ve only known for a couple months, but we do it because we are all equal here on the same path to change, so this allows us to open up. Some of us tear up during this time. The peer educators know this and when this is over, we dance to some music and have a little fun. We are a brotherhood, and it’s great.
Later in the day, we were practicing our business pitches to each other. We gave each other a seven-minute pitch that we will present to our executive volunteers in the hopes that they will believe in our ideas, and us, in order to kick-start our entrepreneurial career. We all have high hopes and worked our hardest. We believe in this program and give it our best. Later on we had book club groups and talked about a classic novel we have been reading, called Crime and Punishment. It has so many elements of the characteristics of where we all come from. We found a profound thought tonight. A character in the book presents a fantastic realization. Everyone, no matter what or who they are or have become, needs someone to turn to. Thank you PEP for being that someone!
Jeremiah S. (a.k.a. “Brake Pad”)
Expressions
“If you always do what you always did, you will always get what you always got.”
~ Albert Einstein
This quote has been an inspiration to me because of the truth in it. I never understood this until I decided to make a change in my life. I’ve been breaking the law my whole life, and that only got me prison sentences. I have a family and needed a different result. I realized I needed to make a change, and that’s when that quote came back to me. I gave my life to Christ and he began a change in me. It’s been 23 years and I know God is not finished with me yet. God has allowed me to come back to prison this time, but in coming back I’ve come in contact with the PEP program. In this program I am learning a lot about business and how to stay positive. I’m also coming into contact with many people who have been in rough situations like I have and made the decisions to change like I have, and we help each other stay positive, stay focused on doing the right thing and living right. I’ve also come in contact with a lot of executives who are willing to help us with whatever we need to get back on track. That is a blessing within itself. I thank God it.
Jimmie T. (a.k.a. “Chubbs from Happy Gilmore”)